


may never

by monstrblood



Category: Paranatural (Webcomic)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Peter Pan AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-23
Updated: 2018-03-23
Packaged: 2019-04-07 03:27:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14071908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/monstrblood/pseuds/monstrblood
Summary: ok so its a peter pan au but i refuse to call him johnny pan bc that sounds lame. isabel and ed are the darling siblings and also darling in general. rj is a pixie but dont worry its still pretty punk. zarei and day are wives. francisco is invalid





	may never

**Author's Note:**

> just a disclaimer i woke up at 5 in the morning for no goddamn reason at all and i wrote this around 7 and i just think thats very quirky and counterculture of me to do

_ It happened in a large, quiet house in the woods. This particular manor belonged to the Guerra family, and Johnny chose this house because there lived people here who believed in him. _

_ There were the boarders in the upstairs apartment, the wives Doctor Zarei and Mrs.Day. _

“Mina darling, are you almost ready? I don’t want to be late for our party!”

“My dear, have you seen my spectacles? I swear I’ve just-”

“You’re wearing them, darling.”

_ Mrs. Day believed in the spirit of youth and the power of love. The doctor believed in sciences and test tubes, but in her wife’s convictions even more. _

_ But then, there was the head of the house, Mr.Guerra. _

“Unless I find where I left my lighter, we aren’t going to any parties! What man goes to a party without a cigar in his hand? I could never show my face outside this house agai-OW!”

“Watch the umbrella stand, Francisco!”

_ Francisco Guerra was a proud, stubborn man. _

_ The two children, however, believed in all kinds of spirits, and made them the subjects in all their games. _

CRASH

“You shall NEVER win, mighty hound! Give up, give up!”

CLANG

“Petty hero, that’ll teach you for breaching my fort!”

“No, Ed, it wasn’t a fort! It was a garden.”

“Oh! Right, thanks Izzy.”

_ Isabel, the eldest, did not just believe. No, she was the supreme authority on spirits, ghosts, monsters, and every adventure it implied. When she wasn’t playing spirits with her brother, she was in her grandfather’s library reading about them. _

“My teeth are sharper than a sharks, my claws sharper than...razors!”

BASH

“Ha! I could do this all day!”

WOOSH

“One step closer and I’ll call Captain Spender, to steal your eyes!”

THUMP-CREAK

“Children! Quiet down!” A loud, booming voice called from the doorway. The yellow square of light was darkened by a large, square frame. Mr.Guerra stomped in. “Now tell me where you’ve seen my lighter!”

“...Your lighter, Grandfather?” Isabel asked. 

“Izzy.” Ed’s eyeglasses flashed in whisper, “The buried treasure?”

“Ed! It isn’t-” Izzy hissed, dark eyes bright and face paled.

Mr.Guerra turned around from the dresser he’d been inspecting, his overcoat causing him to dwarf the two children.

“Buried treasure.” He said.

“It isn’t buried treasure!” Isabel insisted, smoothing her pink nightgown and dropping her toy sword. “I-”

In two loping steps he was looming over her, “So it was you then, you took my lighter. My god-”

“It was borrowed! Didn’t you see the note! I only needed it for tonight-”

“Don’t interrupt your elders! First stealing, now disrespect? What could a little girl POSSIBLY need to do with a lighter!?”

Isabel stood, balling the front of her gown in her hands over and over again while Ed turned a bouncing ball over in his hands. She spoke up, “I need it to see the Shadow.”

Mr.Guerra rubbed the bridge of his nose and growled, “Shadow? What shadow!? The night is filled with shadows!”

“Johnny’s shadow!”

The room fell silent, the shuffling of the two wives could be heard outside, and Ed dropped the bouncy ball.

“JOHNNY’S SHADOW!?” Mr.Guerra exploded, sending Isabel to stumble backwards a step. “You insolent child! What have I said about those stories!? They’re fake! Made up! I’ve told you time and time again, no more library, no more stealing-”

“But grandfather-”

“-AND NO MORE DISRESPECT!” Mr.Guerra shouted. “That’s it, when I get home we will be moving your bed to the next room! No more games or stories, it’s time you grew up!”

“No! You-” Isabel gasped in horror and grabbed for Ed’s hand behind her, only to turn and find him sitting on his bed in the corner, the circles of his lenses bright in the dim room. Mr.Guerra seized her arm and yanked her forward.

“Where did you hide it!?”

“I-” Isabel stuttered. “I’m not telling!”

“Isabel!” He growled, shaking her arm tightly. But Isabel was stubborn too.

“Search for it all night, and miss your party-” She yelled. “-Old men with cigars all look the same anyway!”

A vein shone bright on the old man’s bald forehead, and he squeezed her wrist so tight her arm might have snapped if Doctor Zarei, tall and lank, hadn’t stepped into the doorframe.

“Francisco,” Her voice rang out, alarmingly steady. “Let go of your granddaughter, please. I found an old lighter in a cabinet, it’s low on oil but should work for one night.”

Mr.Guerra stared at the doctor, then sighed as if he were an old car on his last legs. His fingers relaxed and Isabel flung herself away. Mrs.Day entered and ushered the girl to her bed opposite her brother’s.

“Thank you, Mina.” Mr.Guerra said with a rumble in his throat. Straightening his posture, he shoved past the doctor and out of the bedroom. “Shall we?” He asked.

Doctor Zarei hummed and shared a glance with her wife before departing. Mrs.Day sighed and sat on the edge of Isabel’s bed.

“The Doctor smokes?” Isabel asked quietly, chin resting on her blanketed knees.

Mrs.Day smiled and patted her hand, “Of course not. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a lighter touch her fingers. She has to ride the train so much, she’s tired of a car filled with smoke.”

“Is Izzy gonna sleep down the hall?” Ed asked, setting his glasses on the nightstand as he wiped his eyes.

“Oh, don’t worry.” Mrs.Day stood up and moved to his bedside, “I’ll make sure he has so much fun he forgets all about it. After all, he can barely remember what he had for breakfast!”

Isabel giggled quietly, and Mrs.Day patted them both on the head before making her way to the tall bedroom window that had been left ajar. A warm summer breeze greeted her.

“Oh, don’t shut that, please! I left it open for Johnny.” Isabel said.

“...Johnny?”

“Yeah, he’s coming to get his shadow. It can’t be kept away from him for too long or it’ll get lonely.”

Mrs.Day just shook her head and surrendered. If it would make their night better, then by all means. “Goodnight, you two.”

“You kids have fun.” Ed said, and waved his arm up in a groggy wave. Mrs.Day returned it as she shut off the light.

The two children laid in sleepy silence, the sounds of the night pouring in from the window. They exchanged whispers of ghosts, and of worries, and of their expected guest, each growing quieter until drowsiness overcame them both.

 

In midst of the droning summer bugs and distant talk of the forest, a flute’s tune drifted through the room. A night light lit up the glass outside, and a boy stood on the pane.

A bright lightning bug led his way into the room, illuminating the red striped wallpaper and books strewn across the floor. Feet just glancing the carpet, flute in hand, he peeked around the corner. His bright yellow eyes surveyed the sleeping Ed and Isabel, and an uneven row of sharp teeth shone in his grin. The firefly darted from his side.

“Pst! RJ Whaddaya doin? D’you see it?” He whispered.

The light, if bells could whisper, replied in a tune.

“Then get over here, lightbutt! Leave em alone!”

The light chirped in irritation and buzzed around his face, causing him to somersault backwards in the air as he waved the pixie off. His knees bumped into a tall, noisy set of drawers. The two children stirred as the boy shot straight up, the row of bottles and tea sets on the dresser still rattling. He was splayed flat on the ceiling as RJ floated silently over Isabel’s sleeping face, illuminating her in a green light.

“‘Ey, what the heck did I just say!?” He hissed through bared teeth. “Just look for my-”

Then his eyes travelled up from Isabel’s features, to her pillow, to the space above her bed frame. A dark figure, the same size as he was standing tall, laid flat on the wall above the girl, head tilted low at her in curiosity. Its head snapped up, first at RJ, then at him. It raised a hand up, palm open, and waved at him mockingly before sliding upwards into the dark.

He bared his teeth in a victorious grin, “Oh no you dont!” he laughed, kicking off the ceiling and rocketting towards the wall. His shadow flitted across RJ’s radius of light playfully, in and out of the dark. Air rushed past his ears and he swiped at the ankle before 

WACK

smacking face-first into wallpaper. The impact sent a tremor through the girls bed, and her eyes were flung open.

She cried, hurling her fist upwards and sending the boy, crumpled and spinning, through the air.

“ _ OW- _ ”

“Oh my-” She gasped and brought her punching hand to her lips, “Oh my goodness! Are you Johnny!?”

Johnny groaned. RJ circled his head, bell ringing out in pixie expletives. The shadow projected on the wall behind him, clutching its stomach and pointing in silent, deafening laughter. Isabel threw her blankets aside and grabbed the lighter under her pillow. Straightening the bow in her hair, she breezed up to where he now hovered beside the dresser, her smile bright enough to dim even RJ’s light.

“I knew you’d come! Oh wow, this is so exciting! I-I haven’t met a new spirit in-” She jumped up and threw her arms around his neck, feet kicking in the air with a burst of laughter. “-Forever!”

Johnny, still dizzy and ears ringing, lifted her into a float out of pure numbness to the universe.

“Bwuh,” He said eloquently. 

RJ rang out in a flurry of pixie dust and irritation, pushing smartly into Johnny’s back and landing the embraced pair squarely on the floor.

Isabel pulled back, bright as the sun, “I have your shadow! Or, well, your shadow found me! I was out in the woods with my brother and-” She gasped, and practically leapt away from him, “But what am I doing!? Where did I leave it again-” Lighter at the ready, she twirled around the room in a flutter of rose-pink skirt.

“Ed!” She whispered and gave him a shove. He groaned. “Wake up! You’re gonna be so upset if you miss this…”

She turned back to face Johnny, eyes searching the walls around them. Eventually, she came to stand before the closed bedroom door, lighter aloft. It clicked one-two-times, and on the third a little fire sparked to life. As Johnny and RJ floated closer-

-the shadow did too. It stepped into the firelight, leaning towards Isabel’s hand in curiosity of the little flame.

“Hello again!” Isabel smiled and spread her skirt in a one-handed curtsy, which the shadow returned by bowing to her extravagantly with a spread of its arms. Johnny’s brow wrinkled. The shadow mimed lifting off a hat to her, then innocently tilted its head, as if just noticing him for the first time.

“That’s it-” Johnny grumbled and vaulted towards the door, 

“-git  _ back  _ here you-” Isabel jumped out of the way 

“ _ -tar stain lookin’- _ ” The door resounded under his weight and he shoved aside a lamp 

“ _ -Cap’n Spender lookin- _ ” which Isabel caught with a noise of protest

“ _ -PIECE A-” _ He yanked the ankle back and kicked off the wall.

RJ twirled around the shadow in victory as Johnny went criss-cross, desperately tried to mash the end of the shadow into his shoe, as glittering dust rained over the room. A boy groaned in the background as Isabel stabilized the lamp.

“What are you doing, you dummy?” She whispered, “This is my room!”

“Izzy?” Ed murmured, “Whus goin’-”

“Get up and find out, lazybones.” Isabel said over her shoulder as she switched on the lights. She then spun around to face Johnny, floating at her eye level, uselessly holding the struggling shadow and scratching his head.

Her brow furrowed, “Wh-what are you-” then it dawned as she smiled that same bright smile, “You can’t just stick it on! Sit down, let me get my thread…”

Johnny and the shadow snapped their heads up. “You can sew?”

Isabel was already back with her sewing box, setting it down with a wink, “Better than a spider.”

Johnny grinned and shoved the end of the shadow in her face, eyes shining and legs uncrossed. She stared at his hand tentatively, then held the shadow between her fingers to find it weighed no more than a dry leaf. She began to thread the needle as they sat down.

“How did your shadow get so far from you, anyway?” She asked absently, inspecting how exactly to pierce darkness with a needle.

“Ran away from me,” He said between playing a few test notes off his flute. RJ came to rest on his shoulder, singing a low melody. “The other night, when we was at the window.”

She lowered her needlework and stared, “The window?”

“Yeah, for the storytime! C’mon, you were there, you know what I’m talkin’ about.”

Her face already shone brightly again, all sunny in the middle and rosy in the corners, and she blushed into the thread, “ _ My _ stories? You like them? They aren’t scary?”

He laughed, “Nah, they’re  _ awful _ scary! That’s what makes ‘em great, my gang can’t get enough. My favorite’s the one with the knight.”

“Thank you,” Isabel’s eyes darkened slightly, stitching, “I hope you have them memorized, because I can’t tell much stories after tonight.”

His flute playing stopped and he cocked an eyebrow, “Huh? What’s happening?”

As she tied the end of the string in a knot and set his shoe down, she sighed, “My grandfather is making me grow up tomorrow.”

Then Johnny and his shadow shot up like twin bullets.

“YOUR  _ WHAT!?  _ IS  _ WHAT!? _ ” He screamed.

Isabel rose to her feet to shush him, but could only stare as Johnny fluttered across the room like a bat.

“ _ Grow up!? _ ” He hissed from the left hand corner, 

“No! No way, no how, nuh uh!” He spouted from above the dresser, 

“This is yer ‘ _ Grandfather _ ’? I dunno what that means but if he’s the guy I heard shoutin’ earlier then-” He kicked the air, sent himself rolling backwards, then flew to her side.

“It ain’t happening! Let’s go, I know somewhere safe!” Johnny declared, seizing her hands and trying to lift her in the air with him.

“Holy,”

“Macaroni.”

Ed sat upright in bed, hands still on the frames of his eyeglasses, jaw dropped as far as it would drop.

“Hi Ed,” Isabel couldn’t contain her smile as RJ spun around her, the twinkling dust lifting her slowly into the air. “Could you hand me my umbrella?”


End file.
